NBA

NBA Play-In Preview: Warriors vs. Grizzlies Odds, Trends, & Predictions

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Anthony Cardenas
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Anthony Cardenas Sports Editor

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Published13 Apr 2025

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Due to their loss on the final day of the regular season, the recently-surging Golden State Warriors find themselves in the NBA Play-In Tournament. They’ll represent the 7th seed, and will take on the 8th-seeded Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night at home inside the Chase Center.

Can Grizzlies Upset Warriors In Western Conference Play-In Game?

The winner will automatically move on and set a date with the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs. The loser will face the winner of the 9 vs. 10 game between the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks, and the victor in that game will take the 8th seed and play against the mighty Oklahoma City Thunder.

Season Series: Warriors 3-1

The Warriors won the season series by a count of three games to one, but their lone loss to the Grizzlies was one of their worst games of the entire NBA season. On December 19th, Golden State visited Memphis on three days rest, and still wound up losing by a score of 144-93.

The Grizzlies had 83 bench points in the game and a balanced scoring attack, and were able to hold Steph Curry to a measly two points. The Warriors’ superstar guard went 0-for-7 from the field in 24 minutes and finished with a plus/minus of -41.

But that was long before the Jimmy Butler trade. In their most recent matchup on April 1st, Curry got some revenge by dropping 52 points in a 134-125 victory to take the season series.

Recent Warriors-Grizzlies Playoff Matchups

The Warriors and Grizzlies have squared off in the official playoffs on two separate occasions.

The first was in 2015, when Golden State defeated Memphis in 6 games in the Western Conference Semi-Finals. The Grizzlies actually led the series 2-1, but lost three straight to a Warriors team that was on their way to winning their first NBA championship since 1975. The results were the same in 2022. The two sides squared off in the second round that year, and Golden State ended up winning by another 4-2 margin, and again on their way to a title.

This won’t be the first time that they’ve faced off in the Play-In, either. In the first year of the new postseason format in 2021, the Warriors lost to the Lakers in the 7 vs. 8 game to set a date with the Grizzlies. Memphis snuck by in a hard-fought game that went into overtime, knocking the Warriors out and ending their season.

Warriors vs Grizzlies Odds

  • Point Spread: Warriors -6.5
  • Over/Under: 229.5

Warriors vs Grizzlies Prediction

Outside of the one embarrassing loss in the season series, the Warriors mostly handled the Grizzlies in the matchups. In the one post-trade deadline meeting, Curry and Jimmy Butler combined to score 79 points, and Golden State won by nine. The Grizzlies are reeling, too, and will enter the postseason having lost 10 of their last 16 games.

Look for Playoff Jimmy to make an appearance in order to save the Warriors from having to play in the second Play-In game. They might not cover the spread, but the veteran team will figure out a way to get the job done.

Warriors 110, Grizzlies 106